Maggie Lyrics
Foster & AllenMusic Video
Maggie
I wandered today to the hills, Maggie,
To watch the scene below
The creek and the creaking old mill, Maggie,
As we used to, long long ago.
The green grove is gone from the hills, Maggie,
Where first the daisies sprung;
The creaking old mill is still, Maggie,
Since you and I were young.
Oh they say that I'm feeble with age, Maggie,
My steps are much slower than then,
My face is a well-written page, Maggie,
And time all alone was the pen.
They say we have outlived our time, Maggie,
As dated as the song that we sung,
But to me you're as fair as you were, Maggie,
When you and I were young.
[Instrumental]
They say we have outlived our time, Maggie,
As dated as the song that we sung,
But to me you're as fair as you were, Maggie,
When you and I were young.
When you and I were young.
Song Details
✍️ Lyrics: George Washington Johnson - Canadian school teacher
🎶 Music: James Austin Butterfield - American composer
✍️ Original Title: When You and I Were Young, Maggie.
📅 Published: First published as a poem in 1864 and late published with music in 1866.
📝 Song Brief:
Maggie is a nostalgic love song that looks back on a lifetime shared between two people who have grown old together. The singer reflects on the early days of their romance, the dreams they once held, and the many challenges they faced along the way. As the years pass and youth fades, what remains is a deep, steady affection built on shared memories and quiet devotion. The song carries a gentle sadness, but also a sense of gratitude — a recognition that true love endures not because life is perfect, but because two people choose to walk through it side by side.
The following is an excerpt from Wikipedia in relation to the song's origin:
Although Springtown, Tennessee, has a small monument outside an old mill claiming the song was written by a local "George Johnson", in 1864, for his Maggie, the truth is that its lyrics were written as a poem by the Canadian school teacher George Washington Johnson from Hamilton, Ontario. Margaret "Maggie" Clark was his pupil. They fell in love and during a period of illness, George walked to the edge of the Niagara escarpment, overlooking what is now downtown Hamilton, and composed the poem. The general tone is perhaps one of melancholy and consolation over lost youth rather than mere sentimentality or a fear of aging. It was published in 1864 in a collection of his poems entitled Maple Leaves. They were married October 21, 1864 but Maggie's health deteriorated and she died on May 12, 1865. James Austin Butterfield set the poem to music and it became popular all over the world. George Washington Johnson died in 1917. The house where the two lovers met still stands on the escarpment above Hamilton, and a plaque bearing the name of the song had been erected in front of the old building but is now inside the Township of Glanbrook building on Binbrook Road (Road 52) just east of Fletcher Road (Road 614).
🎻 Genre: Ballad, Love Song, Folk Song
👥 Covers: John McCormack, Johnny McEvoy (recorded the song as Nora), De Dannan, James Galway and The Chieftains, The Fureys & Davey Arthur.
🎤 Featured Artists: Foster & Allen
💿 Album: Maggie
Released: 1983
Country: UK
Format: 12" Vinyl
Label: Ritz Records
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